Russia expels 20 German diplomats in tit-for-tat move

MOSCOW/BERLIN — Russia has announced the "reciprocal" expulsion of more than 20 German diplomats following the "mass" removal of Russian embassy staff from the country and accused Berlin of destroying ties.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state media on Saturday that those German diplomats would have to leave, as Berlin said some Russian diplomats had left Germany.

A German official said Berlin and Moscow had been in contact about their respective representations in the last few weeks with the aim of reducing Russia's intelligence presence in Germany, Reuters reported.

"Today's departure of Russian embassy staff is related to this," said the official. The German ministry declined to say how many Russian diplomats had left.

Berlin had for years maintained deep economic ties with Moscow, particularly in the energy sector.

Relations, however, soured since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, and as Berlin increased its financial and military support to Kyiv.

Commenting on Germany's expulsions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said: "We strongly condemn these actions by Berlin, which continues to demonstratively destroy the entire array of Russian-German relations."

It said its own expulsions were "reciprocal", and that it would significantly limit the maximum number of staff at German diplomatic missions.

It said Germany's ambassador had been told of the moves during talks on April 5.

Germany's Bild daily reported that 34 of the 90 German diplomats remaining in Moscow had been told to leave Russia.

Early last year, Germany expelled 40 Russian diplomats who it said represented a "security threat".

In October, Germany's cybersecurity chief, Arne Schoenbohm, was sacked after allegations that he had ties to Russian intelligence services.

Lula advocates peace

In Portugal's capital Lisbon, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday that it is necessary to "choose a third way" to build peace for the conflict in Ukraine. "I don't want to please anyone. I want to build a way to bring the two (Russia and Ukraine) to the table," Lula said.

In a joint declaration, Lula and his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa emphasized their commitment to international law, the UN Charter, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

The declaration also says Portugal and Brazil support the full functioning of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Last week, Lula said the United States and European allies should stop supplying arms to Ukraine, arguing that they were prolonging the conflict. "If you are not making peace, you are contributing to war," Lula said.

Meanwhile, Russia is advising citizens to avoid travel to Canada, citing what it calls numerous cases of discrimination against Russians, including physical violence, its Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

Agencies - Xinhua